West Point faces an untested Hernando at home

September 30, 2011

West Point returns home tonight looking to improve on their tremendous start to their district schedule after dominating Lake Cormorant 42-14.

Tonight they take on a truly untested Hernando that have lost two in a row since their lone victory on the season in week three.

The Green Wave jumped off the bus from a two-plus hour ride up north and built up a 42-0 lead over the Gators early before the defense finally broke down in the fourth quarter.

â€śWe played well in all three phases of the game,â€ť head football coach Chris Chambless said. â€śIt wasnâ€™t anything more impressive than the other. I thought we tackled well, covered pretty good. There were some things we could have done better, but I thought all in all it was a pretty complete game.â€ť

West Pointâ€™s offense accounted for 382 yards, with 330 of that on the ground. Tez Lane led the way with 171 yards on 12 carries.

Again, it was the Green Wave running game that set the tone for the victory, and their highest total to date after busting through the tackles for 204, 239 and 155 rushing yards respectively over the last four games.

Despite the near flawless effort in the district opener, Chambless admits there always room for improvement in every part of the game.

â€śYou can always block better, tackle better and cover better on your kick-offs and punts,â€ť he said. â€śWeâ€™re all the time having film sessions to try and see some of the things we need to improve on.â€ť

Currently, the Green Wave, 2-3, are one of four teams who had opening victories last week and return home for the first time in two weeks looking for back-to- back victories.

The visiting Tigers havenâ€™t gotten off to the best of starts in 2010, their lone win came on the road at Cleveland.

Some could argue they have a little chip on their shoulder knowing they could do what few teams ever do in West Point over the last few years and thatâ€™s win.

â€śTheyâ€™re a better a team than what theyâ€™ve played, they just havenâ€™t had breaks. Thatâ€™s kind of like us early in the season,â€ť Chambless said.

Hernando likes to run a wing-T offense, running up 15-16 drives, but unfortunately havenâ€™t been able to put points on the board when they needed to.

But the Tigers can score, posting 20 or more points in four games this season.

â€śThey like to play keep away,â€ť Chambless said. â€śWeâ€™re going to have to take the opportunity when we have the football to score.â€ť

The key for the Green Wave defense is to force them into long yardage situations. This week in practice, West Point prepped as much as they could keeping the defense on the field for long periods of time to get them used to playing tired.

â€śWeâ€™re hoping that pays off tonight,â€ť he said.
Chambless said the team is looking forward to playing in front of their home crowd for just the third time this season.

This season, the Green Wave will be on the road three times in district play, each one a little over two hours away, something that eventually might take itâ€™s toll. But after last weeks performance, West Point look as they though theyâ€™ll handle it pretty well.